SSFW Closed Group Page Rules

SHOP SMALL FORT WORTH PAGE RULES:

SHOP SMALL FORT WORTH GROUP RULES:

The Shop Small Fort Worth Closed Facebook Group is an extension of the Shop Small Fort Worth brand that gives artists and craftsmen a platform to sell and advertise their handmade and locally designed products to our community.

For a small monthly fee, local Brick & Mortar shops, online clothing boutiques and service providers may also utilize our platform as a Business Facebook Page Subscription or a SSFW Directory Membership which includes a FREE Business Subscription! Sell your products and/or services, grow your Facebook presence and page views, send customers directly to your website for easy ordering, shipping and inventory tracking, market your business to new clients/customers + advertise special events, classes or workshops your business is hosting!

PLEASE READ the following rules in depth before posting for the first time! You are asked to read at your request to join and we expect that you have. Group admins do NOT need to warn or explain reasons for deleted posts or removed group members. Posts and members are only removed because of group rule violations.

If you have any questions regarding the Group Rules you may contact the Shop Small Fort Worth Team directly at fbgroup@shopsmallfortworth.com.

If you have questions regarding your business listing or any other questions about the group's activity, please contact one of our Posting Moderators directly.

Sarah Bow | Courtney Utter | Tina Beaumont Clay | Jess Zimmerman

***SELLER RULES***

**PLEASE NOTE: If you are a Subscribed Facebook Business Page, rules #2, #3 and #13 do NOT apply to you! Our admins and group moderators review posts/listings based on if the post is made by a FB Business Profile versus a Personal Facebook account.**

GROUP RULES: QUICK REFERENCE FOR BUSINESS OWNERS:

No MLM or Pyramid Sales
Handmade & Original Design listings ONLY by Personal Account Members
No linking to websites or FB Business Pages by Personal Account Members
Pre Orders allowed by any Member Profile daily
Don’t hog the feed - No more than 2X daily
Video content only allowed by FB Business Page Members
No Ads for Events/Classes or Ticket Sales by Personal Account Members
Don’t post Copyright items
No Giveaways or Ads for Giveaways

Find more rules and in depth descriptions below.

1. MLM/NETWORK/PYRAMID/WHOLESALE SALES ARE NOT ALLOWED:

We have a number of members who sell Rodan + Fields, LuLaRoe, Thirty-One, etc. No matter how amazing your product might be, it is still a product conceptually designed and created by someone that is NOT local. This group is intended to support and promote small local businesses, not to help pay off someone at the top of a pyramid! We appreciate your understanding on this.

2. ONLY HANDMADE ITEMS OR PRODUCTS CREATED FROM A MEMBERS’ ORIGINAL DESIGNS ARE ALLOWED TO BE SOLD WITHOUT A SUBSCRIPTION:

If you did not make or design the product yourself, even if it is handmade but you personally did not make it, you are reselling a product as a boutique or reseller and are required to have a Group Subscription in order to post and sell.

ALL posts are to be direct listings for items available for sale and for purchase, not a general "ad" of your business offerings.

PREORDER & CUSTOM item listings for handmade and designed products are allowed any day of the week.

3. NO LINKING OR SHARING TO FACEBOOK PAGES OR WEBSITES IN A GENERAL PRODUCT LISTINGS:

You may not link to your Business Facebook Page or website for a customer to purchase an item in a product listing unless you are a Subscribing Member. General product listings must be of the item/s for sale that a buyer can directly COMMENT ON to order/purchase. A product listing should have included images, a good description of items for sale or preorder, pricing details, payment options and pick up locations in the details.

**If you are a Subscriber or SSFW Directory Member (includes a subscription) general ads and links to business outlets and E-Commerce sites for ordering, tracking inventory, order fulfillment and client data collection is allowed.**

5. SELLERS MUST BE UPFRONT ABOUT THEIR PICK-UP/DELIVERY:

If you are only offering local pickup, you should make your general location known in the initial post. Buyers may forgo a purchase due to the pick-up location and distance. If you offer shipping of your products, please note that offering in your listing information.

6. ESTABLISH YOUR PAYMENT OPTIONS:

State your payment methods in your product listing. If you do not accept Credit Card payments through an invoicing system let the customer know what payment options you offer. Ex: PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, Cash at Pick Up etc.

PREORDER/CUSTOM ITEMS & SERVICES: Shop Small Fort Worth is not responsible for any transactions that take place in this group. It is your responsibility to take payment for an item or special service before you begin your work. If a customer fails to pick up or pay for an item/service after it has been custom created/fulfilled you may notify the Shop Small Fort Worth team to report the neglect of payment but we can not do anything about your loss of time or finances.

7. IF IT IS A ONE-OF-A-KIND ITEM, PLEASE DELETE YOUR PICTURES ONCE THE ITEM HAS SOLD:

When posting several of the same item, please post all photos in one listing. State in the description that you have other colors, finishes, etc. available in the photos. Please delete the listing once the item/s have sold if you will not be making more to prevent the bumping of an outdated listing.

8. HELP BUYERS SEARCH FOR ITEMS:

Make it easy for buyers to search for products by putting your company name and item you are selling in the first line of your post. This way they can easily search and find you for services.

9. DELETE YOUR OLD LISTING BEFORE YOU REPOST:

Please do not post the exact same listing over and over. Please delete the initial listing first, or bump the initial post. Only bump your listing every few days.

10. YOU MAY NOT POST MORE THAN 2 TIMES IN A DAY:

It is unfair to the other members to have their posts pushed to the bottom of the group feed because one person posts too many times in a day. You may post up to two times, but both posts may not be about the exact same item/s.

11. DO NOT PM A BUYER UNLESS IT IS REQUESTED:

If a buyer posts an ISO, sellers may comment and offer their services, but must wait to be contacted by the buyer. Please do not pm the buyer unless they directly request info from you. We do not want to harass the buyers or put them in an uncomfortable position. There are many companies offering the same service so it is unfair to others to PM the buyer behind-the-scenes to steal a sale.

12. YOU MAY NOT SELL AN ITEM IN A PM UNLESS THE BUYER POSTS "SENT YOU A PM”:

If you want to buy an item through PM for privacy purposes, you still must post “SOLD - Sent you a PM” so others know a sale might be underway and pending prior to their comment on the post. Otherwise, the item should go to the first person to post “want/sold/etc.”

13. NO VIDEOS ON GENERAL PRODUCT LISTINGS:

Posting video content may NOT be done as a general member. As a Subscribing Member your Facebook Page video Ads will be accepted.

***BUYER RULES***

14. DO NOT POST AN ISO FOR AN EXACT REPLICA!

Please be careful when posting ISO to not steal other people’s designs. It is never ok to post a picture you found on the web and to ask someone to replicate the exact product as it is pictured. It is ok to ask if someone already offers a product similar to your inspiration photos or to request something to be created using it as inspiration.

Any posts asking for an exact replica will be deleted. If any items are offered or requested that depict a licensed or trademarked logo (sports teams, schools, large name brands, etc.) they will also be deleted. With the exception: items made with materials/ fabrics that are pre-made licensed and purchased from craft stores.

15. PLEASE ARRANGE PICK-UP/DELIVERY IN A TIMELY MANNER:

Please be considerate of the seller and make arrangements quickly. If you have changed your mind please inform the seller ASAP so that they can move on to the next!

16. POST HIJACKING IS NOT ALLOWED:

If you post an ISO and another buyer comments on your thread, or you post SOLD/WANT on a Sellers listing the item/s is yours and no one can "high jack" or try to take the items before you have the option to purchase or pass.

17. ITEMS ARE NOT FOR RESALE:

Buying items on this page and then reselling them for profit is prohibited.

18. BUYER IS NOT OBLIGATED TO PURCHASE MISREPRESENTED ITEMS:

If you arrange to locally pick up an item and it is not what was pictured in the product listing or in the condition described in the listing, you are not required to purchase it. SSFW and the group admins are NOT responsible for sale complications that may arise. All we can do is remove the Seller for an offense. If an issue remains unresolved you may message an admin to report it.

19. NO AUCTIONS OR HAGGLING:

Auctioning items off to the highest bidder is not allowed. This is not a resale page. Sellers have listed items and services that are priced to sell.

***GENERAL RULES***

20. GIVEAWAYS ARE NOT ALLOWED:

Individual company giveaways are not allowed in the group! If you would like your business to get more exposure through a Shop Small Fort Worth giveaway, please email marketing@shopsmallfortworth.com

21. EVENT & WORKSHOP ADVERTISEMENTS:

Event and class advertisements or vendor calls for participation in your event are only allowed if your business is a group Subscriber or SSFW Directory Member. These types of posts are considered Ads and will be deleted by general members. Requesting donations for events/auctions is only allowed at this time.

22. COPYING/PLAGIARISM IS NOT ALLOWED:

Please be careful when posting ISO (or replying to those posts) to not steal other people’s designs - even if it is for a baked good!!! It is never ok to post a picture you found on the web and to ask someone to replicate the exact product. It is ok to ask if someone already offers a product similar to your inspiration photos or create a new item using something as inspiration. But do NOT directly copy a design!

Using another person’s design without their permission risks infringing their intellectual property rights, including their copyrights, trademark rights, and personality rights. Copyright protection automatically vests with anyone who creates a new design. Copyright laws enable the designer to stop others from copying his or her design or to create “derivative” spinoffs of the design, which would include copying an image. Together, these laws broadly protect the intellectual property rights owner from having others appropriate their work without permission.

Any posts asking for an exact replica will be deleted. If any items are offered or requested that depict a licensed or trademarked logo (sports teams, schools, etc.) they will also be deleted. With the exception: items made with materials/ fabrics that are pre-made licensed, purchased from craft stores.

23. ***DO NOT ADVERTISE BIG BOX STORES!***

If you are here and a member of this group that means that you are here to shop local and support the local small business community. When someone posts an ISO in this group that means they are looking for a small business to be recommended or come to their aid! PLEASE do NOT reply or recommend a large corporate franchise. That takes opportunity away from the small businesses in this group that need the exposure and business far more than the large businesses like Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Sams, Amazon etc.

24. ADDING NEW MEMBERS:

If you know someone who should be added to the group, add them and we will approve it. If we cannot tell where a person lives, or if they are not spam due to their privacy settings, we will most likely not add them unless someone in the group has requested it. We get lots of spammer requests to join and we are trying to cut down on this.

VIOLATING ANY OF THESE GROUP RULES IS GROUNDS FOR REMOVAL FROM THE GROUP WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. We have worked hard to create and curate these rules over the past 5 years. These rules are our warning.

NEED HELP?

Please do not post directly in the group asking an admin or moderator to message you!

If you have any questions regarding the Group Rules, your member status or Business Page Subscription you may contact the Shop Small Fort Worth Team directly at fbgroup@shopsmallfortworth.com.

If you have questions regarding a business product/service listing or any other questions about the group's activity, please contact one of our Posting Moderators directly.

Sarah Bow | Courtney Utter | Tina Beaumont Clay | Jess Zimmerman

We appreciate your patience in waiting for a response as all team members manage their own small businesses and/or have young children so do not monitor messages or emails all day everyday, especially during busy seasons. Please be patient for a response.

Thank you so much for helping us make this group a great place for small businesses to launch, grow and thrive!!!

-Whitney Howell